Page 55 of His Property

He seemed stunned into silence by that, content to hang back and watch our conversation.

Alicia turned her attention back to me. “You need to know something. You’re so concerned about commitment, and him letting you in or whatever other shit rattles around in that head of yours, but let me clear something up for you. That man has been through hell and back. You can’t possibly understand what he’s been through. It’s not my story to tell, so I won’t tell it, but I will say he’s been broken before, and youwon’tbreak him again, God help me.”

“Wait, Alicia, that’s not fair.”

But she kept talking, and with every word she said, a sense of dread grew within me, as it became ever clearer I’d misunderstood… almost everything.

“Even though he’s been broken, he took another chance—on you. Youtwit. He did let you in. You just didn’t have the fucking patience to, I don’t know, give him a chance to let you see the real him. Instead, you ran out at theinstantit got a little real. The very moment he appeared to be a man with some flaws, even, God forbid a thousand times, a vulnerability to his emotions. You said you wanted commitment—right before you showed anything but.”

Fuck.

“There is a man out there prepared to do anything for you. One who’s already changed your life. You give him what he needs, and he gives you what you need. But that wasn’t good enough for you, was it?”

She leaned over the counter, her eyes blazing. “I think you have some sort of problem with success. I really do. Because if you had one single brain in your fucking head, you’d be running over to see him right now, and begging him to take you back. Because you have a man who is right for you, in every way. Who could give you the relationship, the connection, the life most women could only dream of. And this man longs for, of all the things in the world hecouldhave… he longs foryou.”

“Oh, shit,” I whispered, my heart in my throat, a sick weight sinking in my stomach.

Alicia nodded slowly, her gaze flashing. “Yeah, ‘oh, shit’ is right. Silly,stupidgirl.”

What have you done, Lola? What the fuck have you done?

I looked over at Craig. “Boss, I need… I gotta go.”

“Oh, yeah… okay.” Craig looked dumbfounded.

I met Alicia’s gaze as I shrugged on my jacket. “Is… is he home?”

“Office,” she said, her voice softer now. “Go.He needs you.”

Pulling the door open to a blast of cool morning air, I looked back at Alicia. “Thank you… thank you for telling me.”

Exasperation clear in his voice, Craig ran a hand through his bedraggled hair. “Does this mean I’m about to lose my best employee? Again?”

Alicia grinned, her words for Craig, but her gaze remaining on me. “If she knows what’s best for her, then I’m afraid so.”

Then I stepped outside, the door closing behind me.

I prayed I wasn’t too late to fix what I’d fucked up so badly.

CHAPTER27

Ellis

The knocking on my door startled me out of the report I was reading, and yet not absorbing one bit. I dropped the folder on my desk, rubbing my eyes with both hands.

I couldn’t even think properly anymore. Not after the fiasco of going to her apartment. Coming to work was likely a monumental waste of time, but if I ever hoped to get back to normal, I needed to start doing the shit Iconsiderednormal.

Then the knock came again, louder this time.

Who the hell is that?

I didn’t have any meetings scheduled, and Alicia had told me she was stepping out for a bit.

I sat there hoping they’d just go away, whoever they were, my desire to be in really anyone’scompany perhaps the lowest it had ever been.

My door opened, and I stood up, striding from behind my desk. I caught it before it swung wide. “Who thefuck—”

A head with a shock of gorgeous dark hair peeked around, deep blue eyes meeting mine.

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